372 - Yahoo Answers, Bar Code Mobile Context, Course Casting and LMS 06

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Dec 11, 2005.
#372 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,710 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2006 - Nov 5 to 8 - Orlando, Florida - www.learning2006.com

1. Learning with Yahoo Answers.
2. Cell Phone Camera Reads Bar Codes for Context.
3. Course Casting?
4. LMS-06 Conference - Las Vegas in April.
5. Learning 2005 Video and PodCasts On-Line.

1. Learning with Yahoo Answers: Check out the newly released Yahoo Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com) which is a social networking model of peer based learning. This free site allows anyone to post a question, on any topic, and receive answers from other users. For example, I posted a question about the definition of "meta-data" and received a response in less than 30 minutes. As the user base grows and as responders get rated on the value of their responses, this has a possible application to corporate learning models. Watch for other social networking based systems from Google, IBM and others.

2. Cell Phone Camera Reads Bar Code for Context: Every mobile phone that has a camera has become a bar code reader for instant context. Systems such as Scan Zoom (http://www.scanzoom.com/) allow a shopper to take a picture of a bar code in a retail store and receive instant information about the product and even compare prices in other stores. Let's see how this could be used in a manufacturing setting, where workers could take a picture of a part or machine and get context information via their mobile.
Add GPS readings from the mobile phone, link to the Learner Profile and this can be even more personalized learning content.

3. Course Casting: In the Higher Education world, professors have started to do "course casting" as an evolution of "podcasting". A teacher wears a microphone in class and creates an audio MP3 file of the lecture or discussion. At the end of the class, the teacher edits, annotates or even extends bits that were confusing. Learners can then access this for review and second wave. One teacher only opens up access to the "course cast" if the learner was actually in class. Watch for LMS systems in Higher Education to add course casting management tools.

4. Mark the Dates: LMS-06 Conference - Las Vegas: In a few days, we will announce a new major event presented by The MASIE Center. LMS-06 will be a world conference focused on every aspect of Learning Management Systems, Learning Content Management Systems and other Learning Systems.
This is a focused and specialized multi-vendor User Group, for current and future users of LMS and related systems. I will be hosting this 2 day event, to be held in Las Vegas on April 3 and 4th. We will post complete information later this week. If you would like early notification or would like to sponsor LMS - 06, send a note to lisaa@masie.com

5. Learning 2005 Video and PodCasts On-Line: We have posted dozens of hours of content from the keynotes and discussion sessions from Learning
2005 on our LearningWiki. Go to (http://www.learningwiki.com) and check out the content, video and trip reports. We will continue to add to this library of content over the coming weeks.


Upcoming MASIE Events and Services:
* Extreme Learning Lab & Seminar - January - Saratoga Springs.
* LMS 06 - April - Las Vegas.
* Learning 2006 - November - Orlando.
* Join the Learning CONSORTIUM!
Information at http://www.masie.com

371 - Learning Report from Middle East Trip

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Dec 9, 2005.
#371 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,743 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2006 - Nov 5 to 8 - Orlando, Florida - www.learning2006.com

Report on Learning Futures - Middle East Visit By Elliott Masie

I am wrapping up a very intense and learning filled trip to the Middle East. We have been working with Learning CONSORTIUM members in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, as well as meeting with government education officials in these countries. Here are some random observations and personal learnings at the end of a trip:

* Strong interest in using blends of e-Learning and classroom delivery in the Middle East in order to provide scalability and reach.
* Experimentation on the use of e-Learning to provide equal access to higher education and corporate education to female populations in areas where culture makes it difficult to teach in a mixed gender classroom. We had dialogues on parallel instruction and on-line collaboration.
* One of the core drivers for expanded e-Learning in Saudi Arabia is travel time and risk, as well as the desire to provide in-country access to education without having to migrate for extended periods of time.
* Global Learning Challenges including creating new models for multi-language and multi-cultural learnings. How can individuals learn in both English and their native languages to provide the highest levels of cognitive processing.
* Saudi Aramco: One of the most advanced and widespread implementations of e-Learning that I have seen worldwide. Deep acceptance and deployment of learning throughout the company. Almost 185 learning professionals throughout the company attended an e-Learning Forum I hosted in Saudi Arabia. Strong leadership support and integration with business drivers.
* Emirates Airlines: Fastest growing airline in the world is deploying a wide range of e-Learning, "Extreme Learning" and blended solutions.
Employees from over 120 countries are high consumers of e-Learning offerings. Emirates is deploying new models of learning throughout the organization and it is a core value of both the company and the Dubai Emirate.
* Integration with ERP Solutions such as SAP is a top level priority in the Middle East, as organizations are advanced in their desire to measure and align learning activities with business outcomes.
* I asked a group of 150 professionals in Saudi Arabia what would be their first step in learning something new, and 143 said they would start with Google!
* Strong interest in "Nano-Learning", the deployment of small learning segments.
* Throughout the Middle East Region I received many questions and concerns about the wisdom of continued U.S. military engagements in Iraq. Most nationals felt that the Arab countries should and would step up to the key roles after a wise and planned U.S. departure.

The MASIE Center and The Learning CONSORTIUM is planning a new international event in Dubai in the third quarter of 2006 called "Learning Futures - Global Learning". If you would like advanced information, please send a note to mollie@masie.com

Regards from the Middle East,

Elliott Masie

Upcoming MASIE Center Events:
* Extreme Learning Lab - Saratoga Springs, NY - Jan 25 - 26, 2006.
* Learning 2006 - Orlando, Florida - Nov 5 - 8, 2006.
Information and Registration: http://www.masie.com

370 - Learning and Training Mistakes Survey; 2006 Events Announced

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Nov 28, 2005.
#370 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology
51,612 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2006 - Nov 5 to 8 - Orlando, Florida - www.learning2006.com

1. Learning & Training Mistakes: Quick Survey Poll.
2. Learning 2006 Early Registration Opens!
3. Extreme Learning Lab & Seminar Opens!

1. Learning & Training Mistakes - Quick Survey Poll: I am collecting a list of common mistakes that we make in the learning and training fields.
This could include mistakes that trainers make (I often leave my change in my pockets) to mistakes in learning strategy to mistakes in learning design. Would you take a minute and send me 1, 2 or 3 mistakes to add to this list. This is a totally anonymous 3 minute survey. We will publish the summary results next week:

http://www.masie.com/survey/

2. Learning 2006 Early Registration Opens! A number of our alumni from Learning 2005 have asked us to open registration for 2006 now, so that they can register using 2005 funds. Learning 2006 is in Orlando, Florida from November 5 to 8th. To register now, go to:

http://www.learning2006.com/

3. Extreme Learning Lab & Seminar Opens! Join us for a small and intense 3 day learning event at our lab in Saratoga Springs - Extreme Learning Lab & Seminar - January 25 to 27th. Explore and work hands-on with the next generation of learning innovations including Wikis, Blogs, Games, Simulations, Rapid Development and more. Led by Elliott Masie and Mark Oehlert. For information and registration, to to:

http://www.masie.com/extreme/

Off to the Middle East! I am heading off to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Dubai for a week. We will publish reports from there on our meetings with Learning colleagues.

Yours in learning,

Elliott Masie

369 - Interviews and PodCasts Galore, Middle East Visit, Talent Available

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Nov 22, 2005.
#369 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,612 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2006 - Nov 5 to 8 - Orlando, Florida - www.learning2006.com

1. Interviews, Video and PodCasts Galore: Learning Assets Online!
2. Middle East Visit by MASIE Center - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain & Abu Dhabi.
3. Talent Available: Asian American College Graduate Seeks Entry Level Business Position.

1. Interviews, Video and PodCasts Galore: Learning Assets Online! We are
posting dozens of interviews, content summaries and "learnings" from the Learning 2005 event. These are all in the public domain, available for free to the general public. Check them out at:

PodCasts: 11 new Audio, PodCasts & Transcripts on a wide range of topics at http://www.learningfeeds.com/

Video Interviews: Keynote interviews with Marshall Goldsmith and Frances Hesselbein at http://www.learning2005.com/drucker/

In the coming weeks, we will add dozens more segments. This is fun!

2. Middle East Visit by MASIE Center - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain & Abu Dhabi:
Elliott and Cathy Masie are heading to the Middle East for a Learning Tour on December 1st. We will be visiting with learning and training colleagues in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. Elliott will be holding meetings with Saudi Aramco and Emirates Airlines, as well as meeting Learning TRENDS readers in the region. If you are a learning professional in these countries, send a note to emasie@masie.com. We will post a perspective on how learning, e-Learning and Talent Management is evolving in the Middle East.

3. Talent Available - Asian American College Graduate Seeks Entry Level Business Position: Are you looking for a bright, internationally experienced business major for an entry level job in your company? Li Jin Guo worked for The MASIE Center on a project last year while she was a senior at Skidmore College. She is a top level graduate of the Business Department, speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese, and has a strong interest in business. If your company is looking for someone who is talented and has a great work ethic, consider Li Jin. She is based in NY, is a naturalized U.S. citizen and is willing to relocate. Send me a note to emasie@masie.com and I will pass it on to Li Jin. We all remember how hard it is to get the first great job, so we are advocating for this young, talented person!

Happy Thanksgiving to all Learning TRENDS Readers!

Elliott

368 - CLO Lunch Interivew; Video iPod, Email from a Car and Disposable Audio Books?

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Nov 11, 2005.
#368 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,612 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.

1. Chief Learning Officer Lunch Interview - Video, Audio & Transcript.
2. Beach Wireless, Video iPod, email from a Car and Disposable Audio Books?

1. Chief Learning Office Lunch Interview - Video, Audio & Transcript: We are pleased to present a free one hour video, audio or text transcript interview with a group of top level Chief Learning Officers. At Learning 2005, I hosted CLO's and Learning Executives from Deloitte, Grant Thornton, Central Intelligence Agency and others, for an in-depth interview about learning from the CLO perspective. This is the first of dozens of hours of content from our recent event that we will be posting over the coming weeks. Check it out at:

http://www.learning2005.com/clotalk/

2) Beach Wireless, Video iPod, Email from a Car and Disposable Audio Book:
I am writing this editon of Learning TRENDS on the beach in the British Virgin Islands. First of all, it is pretty strange to have wireless on a remote beach on a remote island. But, I guess they figured that some guests, like me, want to stay in touch. So, at 5:30 am, with the sun rising, I am on-line to my office and typing this TRENDS to you. Here are a few other random new technology experiences that I have had in recent
days:

* Video iPod: I bought my new Video playing iPod the other night. Went home and bought 3 episodes of the TV show LOST for $1.99 apiece to watch on the plane down to Virgin Gorda. I was blown away by the quality and simplicity of the Video iPod. For 3 hours, I watched a high fidelity video image with great sound in a very simple form factor. We must find ways of making video learning content available for these types of devices. I want to take management and other courses in this mode and next week we will start to produce our first Video PodCasts from The MASIE Center.

* Email From a Car: A Learning TRENDS reader forwarded me an email that she just recieved from her car. She has a GM car with a new feature that links the diagnostics of the car with the satellite service and GPS. She gets a regular email from her engine with status reports on wear, tear, performance and suggested service. If something goes wrong, the car also sends an email with an alert. Watch for this trend to continue as wireless and device-enabled communication grow. Wonder if my refridgerator will send me a letter about the cheese that I didn't throw out?

* Disposable Audio Book: Another purchase that I made at the airport was a disposable mp3 player pre-loaded with an audio book. This 2-ounce device included batteries and earphones. It has 20 hours of the author reading his novel. While I can play the book over and over again, or pass on to others, the device is just good for this one book. I'd rather download it onto my player, but it is another element in content delivery innovation.

Personal Note: We had an extreme time at Learning 2005. I want to thank the 1,500 learning colleagues from around the world who came to Orlando at the end of October. We did some very different experiments with content, community and collaboration. Over the coming months, we will place the entire content of Learning 2005 in the public domain in the form of reports, podcasts, summaries and discussions. Watch Learning TRENDS for announcements. You can mark the dates for Learning 2006: November 5 to 8 in Orlando. I return from vacation next Wednesday and will start to send out articles based on our learnings at the event. The first one will focus on "Simple Learning."

Warm regards

Elliott Masie

367 - Self-Service Learning Case from CLO of Cathay Pacific

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 26, 2005.
#367 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,598 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando - 5 Days Away!

1. Self-Service Learning Case from Graham Higgins, CLO, Cathay Pacific.
2. Halloween Reception - Learning Trick or Treat for UNICEF.

1. Self-Service Learning Plea from CLO, Cathay Pacific: Here is a passionate case for the concept of Self-Service in Learning from Graham Higgins, the CLO of Cathay Pacific Airlines, the winner of our Learning Pioneer Award. He posted it this morning on our LearningWiki blog for the Learning 2005 Event:

(Hong Kong - October 26th)- Cathay Pacific and my team are honored to receive the Learning Pioneer Award. I would like to offer some thoughts on this whole self help culture topic though, the following have helped us navigate our way though this over the past decade.

It's not the trainer's fault. I hear a lot of criticism going towards trainers who cannot stop training and therefore get in the way of learners working on their own agenda, at their own pace and taking responsibility for themselves.

It's not their fault, we hire, train, and reward trainers to do that; more significantly the environment they come into is geared up for programmes, batches and imparting what is known already.

So let's look at environments for self help.

Babies do not normally need training to move around, the environment they come into is built to encourage that kind of development. As long as they are not tightly wrapped to prevent movement they will experiment and discover for them selves how to move. Then when sideways movement can't reach the thing they want they will develop the forward option. When they see that the really interesting stuff is up out of reach then standing is gained, it also helps that people around them are showing those kinds of capabilities already. Babies help themselves to develop capability because the environment is designed for that development. So what does your environment at work encourage?

Are your people tightly wrapped with protocol, rules, authority levels, and access to opportunity?

It's not just about training and learning.

In Cathay Pacific, as I'm sure in many other organisations, we have taken every employee touch point we can and redesign it for self-help. Choice and self-selection of benefits, on line paycheck, self serve personal information updates, personal responsibility for creating your appraisal form, planning tools to work out your career direction, on line rosters for crew, eBuy system for purchasing goods etc etc, it's about the whole employee experience.

The environment needs to offer challenge and support! In the home the newly mobile youngster discovers the stairs - a stretch goal with some risk. Smart parents remove the barriers and lay out some cushions when they decide that some support in trial and error is better than protection from failure. Challenge without support can be experienced as abandonment, support without challenge builds a �mother knows best' environment. I still meet adults who can't swim or ride a bike because it was deemed to dangerous, and I still meet adults who are waiting for the company to decide when they are ready for promotion.

So how to move forward?

We started in the mid 90s with self help flexible benefits, you choose how to spend your benefit dollar value. From those who preferred to be looked after we had open hostility, we had taken away our care for them. 2 years later it was just the way we did things and it was smart, convenient, and gave people some control that they valued.

Self-serve however if it is on line needs to be designed with the same insight and investment as a commercial website. I have been in conversations with software vendors where they reassured me that the interface is not that intuitive but they will provide user training to make it work. No No No.

That really is abandonment, if your customers feel that your site is hard to use they wont use it, why make it difficult for employees to self help.
If customers feel that your site is there to push your choice of product they will go elsewhere, why should we design employee processes that don't give choice, control and ease of access. Oh yes, its because we prefer to train people in the things we want them to know when we want, how we want, and at the pace we want.

The biggest shift to move forward is from training to assessment of capability.

A couple of years ago I was asked to put together a plan to put 10,000 employees through seminars on our new government legislation on data privacy. The key questions were of course about what we wanted to get across, how many people would be in a batch, and how we would record attendance.

Hmm, perhaps a better approach was possible.

Someone senior had heard of eLearning so suggested that it would be more effective to automate the instruction with a self teach package.

Hmm, right direction but not quite. Automating a poor process can make it cheaper but it's still a poor process.

The step forward was to agree that if someone could take an assessment and demonstrate the capability to apply the new knowledge to his or her job, then it was not necessary to show that they had attended a seminar or completed the package.

How they got that knowledge didn't matter, we provided access to self teach tailored on line learning options for different work streams, copies of the policy, descriptions of cases, links to external websites, and email access to the in-house experts.

10,000 employees, and we hit 96% success within a couple of months. The main failure points? Some people could not remember their login in Ids and used their friend's, no track or trace for them. Back to the design of easy access.

So, build an environment that gives access and offers people the opportunity to stretch into self responsibility. I can still go back to crawling if I want to, and on a bad day that has real attractions.

Graham Higgins, Cathay Pacific

2. Lunch with CLO's & Halloween Reception: In just six days, we start Learning 2005. Normally, all of the events would be "fixed" months before, but in an Extreme Learning model, good opportunities come around days (or even hours before the start of the learning experience and you adapt with velocity!). Here are 2 elements that we just added to Learning
2005 (Oct 30 to Nov 2):

* Lunch with Chief Learning Officers: We have had a flurry of last minute registrations from Chief Learning Officers and we wanted to provide an opportunity to build an interaction between them and our 1,500 participants. So, at Tuesday's Lunch, we will be interviewing a half dozen CLO's of corporations and government agencies about their views of the future and the role of the learning function.

* Halloween Reception and Trick or Treat: On Monday afternoon, our Learning CONSORTIUM will be hosting a Halloween Reception for all of our registrants with drinks, food and festivities from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. And, in the spirit of the event, we will have the children present doing a Trick or Treat for funds for UNICEF.

While we know the time is closing in on the event, in our just-in-time world we are getting dozens of additional last minute registrations every day. There are inexpensive flights, hotel rooms and we have a Learning BackPack ready for you. Come join us at Learning 2005 on Sunday. Go to http://www.learning2005.com

366 - A Program as a Wiki and an Expo in a BackPack?

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 25, 2005.
#366 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,594 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando

A Program as a Wiki and an Expo in a BackPack?
By Elliott Masie

As Learning TRENDS readers can tell, I am having a great deal of fun experimenting with new models of content, delivery and collaboration as we create our new event, Learning 2005. I wanted to share two of the latest
experiments:

* A Program as a Wiki: We have placed our entire Conference Program in an interactive wiki. This means that every session is open for comments, extensions and even revisions by our attendees. Quite a difference from a printed traditional program. In the last few days, we have had hundreds of people start to extend the program, volunteer to co-facilitate and add their perspectives. This is evolving the program from an agenda publication to a dynamic needs assessment and content evolution tool.

* Expo in a Bag - Learning BackPack: My staff has just called from the warehouse in Orlando (where it is now quite sunny and dry) where 1,600 Learning BackPacks are being stuffed. Rather than a traditional tradeshow, we have assembled the CDs, DVDs, Brochures and White Papers from 75 of the leading learning suppliers in the field and put them in a nifty backpack.
Then, we added an on-line social networking system so that registered participants could interact with suppliers and set up meeting times to have more 1 to 1 discussions. Here is a picture of the Learning BackPack with just some of the contents:

http://www.learning2005.com/backpack/

I will share our learnings about Learning 2005 with our TRENDS readers in a future issue after our event. There is still time and a few hotel rooms left for anyone wanting to make a last minute attendance decision. The early registration rate is available until the end of Thursday and the on-site rate after that is $1,195. Go to: http://www.learning2005.com

365 - Learning Expectations in a Storm; Tribute to Mike Duffy

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 24, 2005.
#365 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,587 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando

1. Learning Expectations: Coping with a Storm.
2. Tribute to Mike Duffy - Pioneer in Learning.

1. Learning Expectations - Coping with a Storm: Over the past three days, as we prepare for Learning 2005 (one week away), I have also been dealing with the fallout of another storm: Wilma, as it moved across the Florida coast.

First, the good news: Wilma will be beyond Orlando by 5 pm tonight. In fact, the forecast is for clear skies by sundown. And, while there was a lot of rain at Disney, there is no damage and everything is A-OK for Learning 2005.

The challenge has been how to deal with appropriate levels of concern amongst our over 1,500 participants, many of whom are flying from overseas to Orlando. We took lots of calls from folks wanting to know the status of the storm and hoping that there would be no disruption in our plans.

I activated our "What If Plan", which we had made a few months ago in case something like this happened. We accelerated sending our advance team to Orlando, led by my wife, Cathy Masie, to be on the ground and to provide information and context. Cathy even called in that she was wearing her Mickey Parka outside during the rains this morning (I think she was jealous of the CNN anchors who had their logo coats in the wind). She reports that all is fine with our facilities and logistics and is working with the Disney Team on our final ramp-up to the opening of Learning 2005 in one week.

Secondly, our goal was to communicate clearly and at high velocity to our participants. Using our Flash Studio at The MASIE Center, I made a 13 minute video (also in PodCast/Audio format) and sent the link to 1,500 registered participants on Sunday. Along with twice daily updates on the website, this is helping us communicate the situation and also provide clarity on the planning. If you would like to see a sample of this broadcast, check it out at http://www.learning2005.com/video/

Our overseas participants have been very appreciative of this information, since their news was less granular than CNN. They had heard more global statements like "hurricane and Florida" without realizing that Orlando was far from the path of the strong part of the storm. One participant's wife sent me an email thanking that she knew this and that it would not cancel her husband's trip and the family's first visit to Disney.

This is another example of why we need to create models for Velocity in learning. By having the inexpensive infrastructure to do a rapid Video (we produced and streamed it in 17 minutes at a cost of less than $50) and the confidence to use these techniques, we are coping with a stressful situation. Part of our role as learning professionals must be to create context for organizational collaboration in times of rapid change or uncertainty.

I hope that you will think about your own organization's Emergency Plans and the flexibility of your learning infrastructure for this process.

Does your CEO have the ability to tape something from his or her office on a Sunday afternoon and have it in the mailboxes of thousands of employees or customers an hour later?

I look forward to welcoming you at Learning 2005. There are still hotel rooms available and we will add a conversation about Emergency Learning to our agenda. Register at http://www.learning2005.com

2. Tribute to Mike Duffy - Pioneer in Learning: I lost a great colleague and leader in the Learning field yesterday. Mike Duffy, the President of CTN, a consortium of energy companies focused on learning, died suddenly.
Mike was the foremost leader in the use of digital satellite television and e-Learning for the energy industry. He created models for desktop and setup learning that have allowed the energy industry to provide learning and training to executives and line workers. Recently, the CTN network played a key role in post-Katrina lessons learned. I was honored to serve on the Board of Directors of CTN, one of our co-hosts at Learning 2005.
Our prayers and thoughts go out to his family. Mike will be honored at Learning 2005 and we will always remember his favorite phrase, "Life is Good". Thanks for everything, Mike!

364 - Rights and Responsibilities in Learning?

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 21, 2005.
#364 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,561 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando

Learner Rights & Responsibilities.
By Elliott Masie.

This morning, one of our Learning TRENDS readers called my office to talk about the issue of "learner's rights". She was facing a few hot issues in her organization that triggered the call:

* Were the discussions of learner's in a classroom dialogue about a topic like sexual harassment or manager competence "off the record" or "on the record"? How much safety could one of her trainer's give to the learners about their disclosures? If one of them talked about a time when they might have done some less than appropriate things, what were the implications?

* Were coaches of learners expected to be part of managerial discussions about promotion decisions?

She wondered if any organizations had created an explicit set of expectations or "Rights and Responsibilities" for the learning arena.

While I have seen some learning contracts utilized, I really could not point to explicit examples. So, I am asking our Learning TRENDS readers for help.

Could you send me a quick note with any of these 3 items:

* If you were to develop a Learner's Rights and Responsibilities in your organization, what elements would you add?
* What are the ups, downs and possible applications for this concept?
* If you have a document that might relate to this request, could you let me know?

Please use the form at this site to send me your thoughts:

http://www.learning2005.com/rights/

I will summarize these next week and do a PodCast/Article, and we will raise it as a discussion topic at Learning 2005 (October 30 - November 2 - Orlando).

Yours in learning,

Elliott Masie

Learning 2005 Update: The storm track will take it past Florida early next week much before (and further south) of our event. We are taking hourly additional registrations for Learning 2005. Still time to attend this Extreme Learning event: http://www.learning2005.com

363 - LearnLand Experiment - Virtual Worlds for Learning

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 20, 2005.
#363 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,561 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando

LearnLand Experiment Launched: Virtual Worlds for Learning.
By Elliott Masie.

I have been intrigued for the past two years about how we might leverage the growing world of video games and virtual on-line environments as a possible Extreme Learning delivery system. My interest is not about replacing the classroom or "souping up" e-Learning. Instead, it is about exploring and experimenting with a very different set of behaviors that might be leveraged by the learning field.

To help our collective learning along, The MASIE Center's Learning CONSORTIUM has invested in the creation of a Sandbox we are calling LearnLand. This will allow us and our organizational learning colleagues to experiment with how a virtual world might be used by learners, trainers and organizations.

LearnLand is in the construction stage. We wanted to give you a visual peek and have created a 3 minute streamed video to show you the concept:

http://www.learning2005.com/learnland/

We are "building" a variety of office structures, a retail structure and even some manufacturing layouts, all virtual, in a 3D World(Second Life). We will experiment with putting live and avatar learning resources into these spaces and evolve design and engagement models. Here are some examples of the learning experiments that we will be conducting, with our Learning CONSORTIUM, in LearnLand:

* New Employee Orientation
* Train the Classroom Trainer Feedback
* Coaching Village
* Assessment "Objects"
* Peer to Peer Learning

We are interested in fusing the best of instructional design, game design and virtual world design in the LearnLand experiment. If you are interested in working with our Learning CONSORTIUM, please contact Mark at mark@masie.com. Also, we will be rolling out additional Virtual World SandBox components of LearnLand using other 3D systems, including ProtonMedia.

LearnLand will be an evolving Community Experiment and will make its premier at Learning 2005 (October 30 to November 2 - Orlando). We look forward to learning together about virtual learning approaches in LearnLand.

Once again, check out the preview video at:

http://www.learning2005.com/learnland/

Yours in Extreme Learning,

Elliott Masie

Registration for Learning 2005 is still open at http://www.learning2005.com

362 - New: Learning RSS Feeds Software; Program Guide Available

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 19, 2005.
#362 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,555 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando

1. Free Learning RSS Content Feeds Software.
2. Tips for Trainers: Pass the Notebook.
3. Learning 2005 Complete Program Content Guide Available.

1. Free Learning RSS Content Feeds Software: We have created a free software package (Windows version) that will automatically bring learning related content to your desktop. LearningFeeds RSS Reader has channels including Learning Trends and Learning University. We will add additional learning content via RSS which will be updated as an option to you from time to time. You can add RSS feeds from any other source, with a single click.

http://www.learning2005.com/rss/

2. Tips for Trainers - Pass the Notebook: This is a simple tip that a TRENDS reader sent me for collective note-taking in an instructor led class. She provides the learners with a notebook that each half hour passes to another student to add intense note taking and context. At the end of the class, the notebook is either copied (if it is a paper notebook) or the file shared with the entire class (if it is a computer notebook).
She adds her own content and comments before it is duplicated for additional input.

3. Learning 2005 Complete Program Content Guide Available: The complete Program Guide for Learning 2005 is now available for download. It contains over 200 case studies, conversations, sponsors' sessions and other activities at Learning 2005, which will be held in Orlando, from October 30 to November 2:

http://www.learning2005.com/guide/

Upcoming MASIE Center and Updates:

Learning 2005 has over 1,500 colleagues registered. There are a limited number of hotel rooms still available - go to http://www.learning2005.com to register.

Note, we have been monitoring the latest storm. Reports indicate that the track of the storm will be well past Florida a week before the start of our event. We and Disney will track the weather and provide any updates.

361 - SMS and Learning - Text Messages from Coaches

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 18, 2005.
#360 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,524 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando

1. SMS and Learning - Text Based Messages from Coaches - An Experiment.
2. UPS, CNN, Cathay Pacific & Grant Thornton To Receive Learning 2005 Pioneer Awards.

1. SMS and Learning - Text Based Messages from Coaches - An Experiment. I have been amazed at how little SMS Text Messages (notes to mobile phones) has been used as a learning tool by organizations.

The MASIE Center is launching a two part experiment with SMS Text Messaging. We will be using it to model how an executive coach might keep in touch and gently remind their clients about key behavioral changes.
Each day, the "learners" will receive a short (140 character) message from the coach. Some of these will request a quick response. For example, "How many key tasks did you delegate to your staff today?"

Our second deployment of SMS Text Messages will be at our upcoming Learning 2005 event (Oct 30 to Nov 2). We will ask each registered participant to auto-enroll their cell phone in our SMS Text system and will provide session updates and community news throughout the event directly to their mobile phones. This is another way to build and maintain community within an learning event.

I will keep Learning TRENDS readers up to date on how our SMS and Learning experiments proceed.

2. UPS, CNN, Cathay Pacific & Grant Thornton To Receive Learning 2005 Pioneer Awards. We are pleased to announce four additional Learning Pioneer Awards for Innovation:

* UPS - For Supply Chain Learning.
* CNN - For Learning in a 24 x 7 Newsroom.
* Cathay Pacific - For Learning in a Self-Service Culture.
* Grant Thornton - For Innovation in Leadership & Partner Development.

These awards will be provided to key learning executives at Learning 2005:
Grace Dyson (CNN), Rick Carter (UPS), Graham Higgins (Cathay Pacific) and Bob Dean (Grant Thornton). We will drill down and explore how each company is approaching learning innovation. I hope you can join me in honoring these four companies when we convene Learning 2005 in Orlando on October 30th. http://www.learning2005.com

Elliott Masie

360 - Navy CLO Wins Pioneer Award; Nano-Learning PodCast

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 17, 2005.
#360 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,503 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando, Florida.

1. FLASH: U.S. Navy CLO, Vice Admiral Moran, to Receive Learning 2005 Award for Integrated Learning and Rapid Development Models.
2. Nano Learning - Miniaturization of our Learning Projects - Text, Audio & PodCast.

1. FLASH: U.S. Navy CLO, Vice Admiral Moran, to Receive Learning 2005 Award for Integrated Learning and Rapid Development Models: We just received confirmation that Vice Admiral Moran, the CLO of the U.S. Navy, will be at Learning 2005 to receive the Pioneer in Learning Award. He is the Commander for the U.S. Naval Education and Training Command (NETC).

This organization is responsible for the training and education of over half a million sailors.

Elliott Masie will present Vice Admiral Moran with the Pioneer Award in recognition of their highly provocative work on transforming the training and learning model within the Navy. This includes their Integrated Learning Environment and a revolutionary 5 Vector Model to map competencies to learning in a more focused manner. He has also shifted the Navy towards a much more rapid learning development and reusable content model.

For information on this award and the learning work of the Navy go to:
http://www.learning2005.com/navy/

2. Nano Learning - Miniaturization of our Learning Projects - Text, Audio & PodCast: Much of learning happens in very small segments. We have 1, 2 and 5 minute learning opportunities and experiences throughout the day.
Here is a Text, Audio and PodCast perspective from Elliott Masie on the concept of Nano-Learning. Parallel this to the Nano-Technology field and let's explore how we could influence the design and use of nano-learning segments. This is a 15 minute segment:

http://www.learning2005.com/university/

Upcoming MASIE Center Events:
* Learning 2005 - October 30 to November 2 - Orlando, Florida. There is still time to register. Join over 1,500 of your colleagues. Special government/non-profit/education rates available. Complete information at http://www.learning2005.com

359 - Water Cooler Communities - College Facebook Example

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 16, 2005.
#359 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,498 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando, Florida.

Water Cooler Communities - College Facebook Example.

While organizations struggle with emerging models for creating learning-rich "communities of practice", there is a parallel viral growth of unofficial "water cooler communities". The official communities have been created on corporate intranets, linked into Learning Management Systems and seeded with support and experts. Some organizations have woven their communities into a blended learning curriculum. But, many of these communities have had a more minimal level of participation, often requiring an enormous level of support to make them sustainable.

Take a few steps away from the official communities and one may find an explosive and growing unofficial community. Much like the water cooler, these communities provide a place for people to go off-the-record and often are much better at linking into a social and sustainable motivational element. In some instances, the "water cooler community" may be, or at least be perceived as, threatening the organization and seen as a threat from a liability, talent retention or morale perspective. Yet, they are real and growing.

Water Cooler Communities have grown in the drug industry, linking field reps with each other, even across companies. In the military arena, there are a number of water cooler groups providing non-classified perspectives from officer to officer in the field.

One huge example is a water cooler community in the college world called Facebook. Started by a student from Harvard to link students to each other, it has grown into one of the most active (and, on some levels,
simple) community in the U.S. Today, the site has more 3.8 million registered college-affiliated users from 1,531 different North American campuses. (www.facebook.com)

A person with a college email address can join a campus-specific area on Facebook. They complete a profile about themselves, including interests, background (where they went to high school), current courses they are taking and, perhaps most importantly, their current relationship status and desires. Students approve requests to be "friends" and can see listings of social networks (friends of my friends), displays of people taking the same classes, invitations to parties and the ability post short messages on the digital doors of their friends.

As a trustee of Skidmore College, I was able to join Facebook and discovered a community that was more vibrant than any of the official digital collaborative structures on campus. Some students use it more than campus email, as it is spam proof and is opt-in permission based. While most use Facebook to maintain their social lives, it is also used by students to access a wider perspective of the people network on campus.
Facebook is accessed way more often than the LMS on campus, WebCT, and has woven and extended the campus community in a new and evolving fashion.

One student needed help with an assignment at 1 AM (when many of the students are doing their work) and went to Facebook to find a junior or senior who was taking a class in their major. Another powerful moment happened when a student was killed in a car accident last week and Facebook was used by students at other colleges who knew him to link to the campus grieving process.

There is much we can learn about communities of practice from these water cooler groups. They clearly drive their motivational elements by appealing to the more social sides of their members. But, isn't that what social networks have at their core? When I go to the water cooler, I am hanging out with people that I want to be social with. Yet, the water cooler conversations can also provide awesome support, coaching and learning moments. There is much to learn here.

For Learning 2005, we have launched a community called LearningNet, which is very similar to Facebook. Over a third of our participants have already created profiles in LearningNet (www.learning2005.net) and are starting the linking process that is often random at events. We reached out to TRENDS readers for the characteristics they wanted to have in the profile sections: About My Work, What I Am Seeking, My Issues and My Learning Issues. It is fascinating to see people finding new colleagues 2 weeks before the event based on a common interest in Rapid Development or moving to a new LMS, as well as people with a passion for jogging, music or touring Disney. We are even populating some discussion sessions based on participants' interests.

The challenge is to start something that will evolve to a "water cooler"
community that has strong value to the core organization. We have to resist tampering with it or exploiting it. If members get a lot of spam, they will vote with their feet and walk away. If members can help evolve the site and use it simply, it will thrive and grow.

Finally, the power of these digital water cooler communities is not in the technology. Clearly, they need to be easy to use and offer simple and effective ways of people connecting with each other. But, the technology is not the challenge. It is the culture that arises around the technology that has the power to leverage communities for learning.

We will keep Learning TRENDS readers informed about this experiment.

Update: Learning 2005 is now two weeks away and has over 1,500 participants. There is still time to register. Flights to Orlando are quite affordable and the early registration rate is still available.
Great rates in hotels at Disney. Learning 2005 starts on Sunday, October 30th. Come join us - http://www.learning2005.com

358 - Video iPods for Learning? Doctorate Research on e-Learning

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 13, 2005.
#358 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,405 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Learning 2005: Oct 30 - Nov 2 - Orlando, Florida.

1. Apple iPOD Video: Implications for Learning?
2. Doctoral Research on e-Learning from Switzerland.
3. Learning 2005 Update: CLO's Share Perspectives

1. Apple iPOD Video - Implications for Learning? Today, Apple extended their popular iPod technology and music service by adding a video capability. The new, thin iPOD can download, store and play video segments. They plan on selling video programs for as little as $1.99.
Sure, it is cool, but what might be some implications for the world of Learning. I spoke with an informal group of learning managers today about the Video iPOD's learning implications:

* On-Line Sales Most Provocative: If consumers get comfortable buying a video program on-line for a low cost, it could have huge implications for video educational content. Imagine getting a one hour video of a Strategy, Purchasing or Safety expert for only a few dollars. Imagine giving each learner a budget for learning content that could be purchased on-line.
* Tagging to SCORM and LMS: The managers were interested to know if there would be rapid innovations to tag video iContent with SCORM and LMS readable codes. If video "casting" becomes popular, how will organizations track and manage these elements.
* 508 Issues: One manager immediately wanted to know how this fit into
508 rules on access for folks with vision or hearing challenges. Would the content be sub-titled or transcribed?
* Wikiable: Another topic was about making the content even more "extreme" by linking it to a blog or wiki for community collaboration.
* Drive Safe! One manager got worried about his college age daughter watching these while driving or under the table while at the high tuition college she is attending.
* Content Costs Implications: There was much discussion about the impact of these devices on the future cost of content. Would we be able to buy content on a more granular level?

Watch for other hardware, software and service providers to jump on this model. The MASIE Center will conduct a series of learning sandbox experiments with the new Video iPods and will share our results both on-line here on TRENDS as well as at the upcoming Learning 2005.

2. Doctoral Research on e-Learning from Switzerland: Chiara Succi is a PhD Candidate from Italy working in the e-Learning area at a University in Switzerland. She is finishing up her study on the implications of e-Learning deployment. While visiting with us at The MASIE Center, we conducted a 10 minute text, audio and PodCast interview with her about this intriguing research on e-Learning engagement:

http://www.learning2005.com/university/

3. Learning 2005 Update - CLO's Share Perspectives: We are pleased to announce that over 25 Chief Learning Officers from major organizations around the world will be attending and participating as resources at our Learning 2005 event to begin in a few weeks in Orlando. Key learning executives from Deloitte, Grant Thornton, Pitney Bowes, CIA and Ernst & Young will be active members of our Learning 2005 community. I will be interviewing them in Keynote Sessions, hosting them for a Lunch with CLO's and you will have a great deal of informal time with them in our discussions, task forces and communities. There is still room and discounted hotel rates for Learning 2005, October 30 to November 2, 2005 in Orlando, Florida.
Information at: http://www.learning2005.com